IN THIS ISSUE
President's Message | Celebrating 2023, Creating 2024 | Stu Semigran
Get to Know EduCare | Meet Our New Team Members!
Highlight on Afterschool | There's Always Something Exciting Happening
Highlight on ACE | SEL Support – and So Much More!
Thankful for Our Donors | Gratitude Abounds
Volunteering | Another Way to Support EduCare
Our New CEO Search Has Begun!
President’s Message:
Celebrating 2023,
Creating 2024
Stu Semigran
What does each of us most want to create in 2024?
There’s so much going on around us in the world. Potential risks and fears abound, and there always seems to be room for worry. I find that honestly assessing the concerns and challenges we face, while moving forward with clarity, optimism, and constructive action can be a productive and healthy approach to choose.
At the beginning of each new year, I find it important to look back, reflect, assess, and fine-tune my direction for the coming year. I do this myself, and then my wife, Candace, and I do this together. EduCare’s Leadership Team engages in a similar process. This process establishes a solid foundation for creating the coming year in a centered way. And it allows us to be better prepared to handle those inevitable “crises du jour” as they arise.
As we look back at EduCare in 2023, there are many highlights and much to be grateful for – and as we reflect, we celebrate, appreciate, and acknowledge the community essential to building EduCare’s success!
You are warmly invited to review EduCare's Vision Plan (item 5 above) here, and to learn more about Heartset® Education: A Way of Living and Learning (item 10) here.
As EduCare looks forward into the new year, some of the themes that key staff members most want to bring forward for 2024 are optimism, consistency, acceptance, balance, opportunity, and joy.
What quality or theme do you want to set as your intention or direction for this year?
Thank you for all the ways that we join together to lift the lives of young people! Let it be done with hope, joy (my personal theme 😊), and gratefulness.
Wishing you a successful and wonderful year ahead!
Get to Know EduCare:
Welcoming New Team Members
Taking you behind the scenes at EduCare, we would like to introduce you to our newest Board member, Meghardarshini Poliki, as well as to our new Fund Development Director, Michael Rawson. We are delighted to welcome each of them to our growing team!
Meghadarshini Poliki
Our newest Board Member, Megha Poliki, has traveled a fascinating path to EduCare, starting in her birth country of India. Early on, her parents inspired her to study and work hard in school, believing that education is the key to building character and breaking through life's obstacles. She dedicated herself to both education and sports, and was recruited to Deloitte India (part of the international firm Deloitte Consulting) straight out of college. During her decade with Deloitte, she moved to the U.S., where she landed in Atlanta – planning to stay only for a short while before returning to India. Fortunately for us, Megha met her husband and remained; the couple moved to Los Angeles during the pandemic, where Megha is an MBA student in her final year at UCLA Anderson School of Management, while working as a Manager for Deloitte Consulting. Her aim in studying for her MBA is to strengthen her business strategy skills with an eye to making a positive social impact.
As part of its coursework, UCLA Anderson assembles teams of students to consult with nonprofit organizations like EduCare. Megha was assigned to EduCare's team, where she collaborated with Stu and other leadership team members as they developed the strategic vision plan for EduCare. She resonated deeply with the principles of holistic education, SEL, and connection. Her experience as a student in India was focused primarily on academic achievement, without the balance of emotional support EduCare emphasizes. And so, when Stu invited her to join the Board, she was happy to jump in.
Her goal as a Board Member is to continue to support EduCare's strategic vision, focusing on managing growth in alignment with its increasingly global mission. With her optimistic outlook, it's not surprising that Megha's bedside reading includes Barbara Fredrickson's Positivity. She maintains her energy and focus through regular tae kwan do practice, as well as long bike rides with her husband along the beach.
We are delighted that you are part of the EduCare Foundation family, Megha, and look forward to your wonderful contributions as we work together to take the organization into its future!
Michael Rawson
"Warm and enthusiastic" is the first impression you're likely to have of our new Fund Development Director. With over a quarter century in both public and private education, and 40 years as an athletic coach, Mike brings a true passion for young people, and for education, to his new position. He also brings deep skills in outreach, building relationships, and everything involved in what he calls "making the magic happen."
Eager to take those skills to the next level, he finds himself energized by the dedication that virtually everyone he has met at EduCare has for the organization. Their passion aligns with his own, as well as with his drive to find the deeper meaning in whatever he does. In his role at EduCare, Mike looks forward to working closely with our team ("I'm here for them"), since, as he says, "Our staff represents our primary value – they are the foundation of what we have to offer our students and our community."
With four children, and three grandchildren (so far), Mike has a personal stake in the future of education. He firmly believes that Heartset® Education brings out the best for young people, and is excited to work with EduCare to bring this approach to more schools, more students, and more communities.
We know that Mike will be bringing vibrancy and creativity to his new role as he moves EduCare's fundraising strategy forward. Welcome aboard!
Highlight on Afterschool:
There’s Always Something Going On!
EduCare's Afterschool Programs currently serve more than 2,000 students daily, across more than 37 middle and high schools. Our students participate in an extraordinarily wide range of learning opportunities, including STEM, arts, fitness, community leadership, and more – as you'll see when you read on!
Our Afterschool team is growing!
We have added a fifth Regional Manager, Edgar Cortes, who is now managing Afterschool services at seven Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) high schools: Ramon C. Cortines VAPA, Downtown Magnet, Augustus Hawkins, Legacy, RFK, STEM @ Bernstein, and Washington Prep. Edgar joins fellow Regional Managers Daniel Cortes, Robert Gonzalez, Jeanaah Sampson, and Manuel Chan Pool.
More additions to the team: Arturo Garay has joined as Afterschool Compliance Manager, while Sarah Hernandez and Amelia Carillo are our newest Site Coordinators, for Bell and Lincoln High Schools, respectively.
Specialized Student Support Services
In addition to all the variety of afterschool activities we offer, there are ongoing opportunities for students to explore leadership roles, gaining confidence and developing important skills for the future. EduCare is able to offer these additional programs in partnership with LAUSD's Beyond the Bell.
Take Action Committee (TAC) kicked off the semester with a TAC Staff Retreat on January 13th.
Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE) is a California state-funded program designed to reduce tobacco use among young people by educating them about the dangers of tobacco use (including vaping and other products targeting young people).
TUPE will hold its Save a Sweetheart Event on February 14th, in honor of Valentine's Day.
CyberPatriot is the Air Force Association’s National Youth Cyber Education Program, created to inspire K-12 students to explore careers in cybersecurity or other STEM disciplines. At the core of CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, in which teams of high school students act as IT professionals, competing to find and repair cybersecurity vulnerabilities while maintaining critical services.
This year, a semifinal round of the CyberPatriot competition took place at Estéban Torres High School on January 20th.
Highlight on ACE:
SEL Support – and
So Much More!
Brigit Escobar, ACE Initiative Site Administrator for the School of Communication & Technology (CATS) organized an LA Campus College Tour for all seniors to visit California State University, Los Angeles; Los Angeles Trade Technical College; and East Los Angeles College.
The ACE Initiative (AI) creates a supportive, whole-campus learning environment, with ample opportunities for students to learn and thrive. It incorporates the keys of successful SEL in a comprehensive year-round program of integrated student services, professional development and parent engagement – creating a healthy, positive school culture.
ACE Initiative goes beyond SEL to support our students with college admissions
With University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) applications due on November 30, 2023, the ACE Initiative staff jumped into action during the fall semester to assist students to submit applications. In fact, AI staff assisted more than 1,000 seniors with college access support throughout Los Angeles!
The team held workshops to educate students on a variety of post-secondary education options. Staff met one-on-one to proofread essays. Whatever the need, the AI team helped guide students through the process. And with that support, our school partners achieved an outstanding 93% – 100% UC and CSU college application completion rate for eligible seniors.
In addition to college application support, ACE Initiative Site Administrators held college fairs on their respective campuses. For example, the AI team at South East High School supported Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) district-wide CSU admissions fair on their campus, attended by over 500 students. In addition, Site Administrators helped organize college field trips. Accompanied by members of the AI team, students visited college campuses throughout California – as far north as San Jose State University and as far south as the University of California San Diego.
Javier Fernandez, ACE Initiative Site Administrator at Social Justice Humanitas at the Cesar Chavez Learning Academy, organized a field trip to California State University, San Marcos; University of California, San Diego; and the University of San Diego.
College support continues throughout the senior year
College access support did not end when applications were sent off at the end of November! The ACE Initiative team continues to guide students as they navigate their next steps after high school. AI staff are currently supporting seniors with Federal Student Aid applications, scholarship support, and community college applications, all while planning additional college field trips and fairs.
Thankful for Our Partners
Thank you to all our remarkable donors and partners, both those who contributed to our year-end campaign, and those who have given throughout 2023. Your donations are making a significant impact on our youth and community, and we appreciate your generosity.
We extend a special thank you to the Rose Hills Foundation, Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, Ally Bank, and CBS International Bank Foundation. Your crucial support for our programs is greatly appreciated!
Volunteering:
Another Way to Support EduCare's Students
Hello! My name is Vanessa Senteno, and I am the Senior Program Manager for the ACE Initiative Department. Throughout the school year, we look for volunteers to partake in a variety of events at the school campuses we support.
For instance, Career Day invites volunteers to discuss their careers in front of a classroom, or host a booth at a campus fair.
Another event is Mock Interviews; volunteers, in person or via Zoom, conduct mock job interviews and suggest ways students can improve their interviewing skills.
There are many more events and opportunities throughout the year, and you are warmly invited to join us!
To learn more about volunteering for EduCare, please email me at vsenteno@educarefoundation.com.
The Search for EduCare's New CEO Has Begun!
This is an exciting moment for the EduCare Foundation.
Stu Semigran will be retiring as EduCare's president and changing his role by the end of this year. Our Board of Directors is now seeking a new visionary Chief Executive Officer to lead EduCare into the future. Review the CEO Position Description here.
Send resumes or nominations by March 31, 2024 to ceoapplicants@educarefoundation.com